A California firm is recalling natural walnuts that have been offered at pure meals shops and coop retailers in 19 states due to an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 12 individuals and hospitalized seven, federal officers mentioned.

Gibson Farms, the corporate based mostly in Hollister, Calif., is voluntarily recalling its shelled walnuts branded as Natural Gentle Halves and Items after discovering that the nuts might carry the E. coli pressure 0157: H7 that “causes a diarrheal sickness typically with bloody stools,” the Meals and Drug Administration said in a notice on Tuesday.

The recall got here after the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention notified the corporate of 12 recorded sicknesses that have been linked to the walnuts. They have been distributed at greater than 300 meals retailers, together with Complete Meals Market, New Seasons Market and Rosauers Supermarkets, the F.D.A. mentioned.

An investigation is underway to find out the potential supply of the contamination, the F.D.A. mentioned. The corporate didn’t instantly reply to inquiries on Wednesday.

E. coli signs can range from individual to individual and should embrace cramping, diarrhea or gastrointestinal misery. Different widespread signs embrace vomiting and fever. Folks start to really feel signs three to 4 days after ingesting meals or drinks containing the E. coli micro organism, according to the C.D.C.

A Complete Meals spokesman mentioned the recalled walnuts have been shipped to 10 of their Complete Meals Market shops throughout Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas and used solely as an ingredient in a salad supplied on salad bars in these shops. The salad merchandise was faraway from the salad bars and the recalled walnuts have been destroyed instantly, the spokesman mentioned.

A spokesman for New Seasons Market mentioned the grocery retailer chain “promptly eliminated the affected product” from its cabinets, including it additionally “positioned signage within the related sections to alert shoppers who could have purchased it.”

This explicit pressure of E. coli is related to a toxin referred to as Shiga that may trigger bloody diarrhea and “for a small variety of individuals, may cause extreme illness,” Dr. Richard Ellison, an epidemiologist at UMass Memorial Medical Heart in Worcester, Mass., mentioned on Wednesday.

Though most wholesome adults would totally recuperate inside every week, some individuals could develop a type of kidney failure referred to as hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is more than likely to happen in younger kids and older adults, the F.D.A. mentioned in its discover.

Dr. Ellison mentioned that about 90 % of individuals will get higher on their very own with out requiring antibiotics, and about 10 % will develop the sickness that may trigger anemia and kidney injury.

“Typically, we advocate offering supportive care and maintaining individuals properly hydrated,” he added.

Customers who’ve signs ought to contact their well being care suppliers to obtain care, the F.D.A. mentioned.

To this point, the individuals who have been sickened within the outbreak have been in California and Washington State. No deaths have been reported.

The Natural Gentle Halves and Items have been offered in bulk bins of 25-pound portions, in keeping with the F.D.A. The expiration dates for the affected product are between Could 21, 2025, and June 7, 2025, the company mentioned.

A listing of retailer areas the place the walnuts have been offered can be found on the F.D.A.’s website.

Customers who purchased the walnuts from bulk containers ought to test their pantries, fridges and freezers, and “not eat or use them,” the F.D.A. mentioned. They need to additionally “clear and sanitize surfaces” that got here involved with the product, the company mentioned.

Retailers that obtained the recalled merchandise ought to discard the walnuts and sanitize bins earlier than refilling them, the F.D.A. mentioned.